System and method for automated analysis comparing a wireless device location with another geographic location

ABSTRACT

A system and method for automatically comparing obtained wireless device location information from a wireless network and comparing that location with another independent source geographic location is provided. Location information is derived from two or more sources in a multiplicity of ways and a comparison is made within a Location Comparison Engine. The Location Comparison Engine makes use of databases that assist in resolving obtained raw positioning information and converting that positioning information into one or more formats for adequate location comparison. Results of the location comparison are deduced to determine if the wireless device is in some proximity to some other activity source location. Other location information used for comparison may be obtained from a multiplicity of sources, such as another network based on some activity of the wireless device user, another wireless device via a wireless network, or any system capable of providing location information to the Location Comparison Engine.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/933,803 filed on Nov. 1, 2007 which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/979,663 filed on Oct. 12, 2007,U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/909,718 filed on Apr. 3, 2007and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/895,144 filed on Mar. 16,2007. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/387,991 filed on Jan. 30, 2012 which is a U.S.National Stage Application of PCT/US2010/044019 filed on Jul. 30, 2010which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/230,628 filed on Jul. 31, 2009. This application is also acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/382,900filed on Feb. 13, 2012 which is a U.S. National Stage Application ofPCT/US2010/041264 filed on Jul. 7, 2010 which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/223,671 filed on Jul. 7, 2009 andU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/223,677 filed on Jul. 7,2009. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/303,809 filed on Nov. 23, 2011 which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/332,878 filed onDec. 11, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,116,731 issued on Feb. 14, 2012 whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/058,621filed on Jun. 4, 2008 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/027,892 filed on Feb. 12, 2008. This application is also acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/992,064filed on Feb. 9, 2011 which is a U.S. National Stage Application ofPCT/US2009/03007 filed on May 13, 2009 which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/053,152 filed on May 14, 2008.This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/030,794 filed on Feb. 18, 2011 which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/306,369 filed onFeb. 19, 2010. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/567,468 filed on Aug. 6, 2012 which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/628,051 filed onNov. 30, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,280,348 issued on Oct. 2, 2012 whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/167,111filed on Apr. 6, 2009. This application is also a continuation-in-partof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/030,759 filed Feb. 18, 2011 whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/305,830filed on Feb. 18, 2010. This application is also a continuation-in-partof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/343,015 filed on Dec. 23, 2008which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/027,892 filed on Feb. 12, 2008. This application claims priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/591,232 filed on Jan. 26,2012, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/652,173 filed on May26, 2012 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/659,934 filed onJun. 14, 2012.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application primarily relates generally to systems andmethods directed to location-based services within a wirelesstelecommunications or data communications network, and more particularlyto other technical fields such as technologies used to authenticatesecure transactions, technologies to verify and validate user identitiesand for use with any application where the results of comparing two ormore geographic locations has some utility or value.

BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART

Wireless device location information is necessary for the operation ofcellular telecommunications services. This location information enablescalls to be established from these devices and calls to be delivered tothese devices wherever they may be, even if they are outside a user'shome network. Location information is also used to effect hand-offsamong cell sites within the cellular network. The term “cellular” refersto a network of individual “cells” or “cell site” areas covered by radiotransceiver systems that control communications within that cell site.Each cell site provides a limited range and radius of radio coverage towireless devices across a defined and limited geographic area. Cellularradio transceivers within a cell site serve wireless devices within theradius of that particular cell site. Multiple cellular radio transceiversystems (or cell sites) are controlled by a centralized computerswitching system. This switching system, known as the Mobile SwitchingCenter (MSC), has information about which cell sites currently provideradio communications services to particular wireless devices. Hence, aparticular MSC also has a defined and limited geographic coverage areawhich is defined as the aggregate of all of the cell site geographicareas of the cells that it controls. Cell site areas may also besubdivided into smaller “cell sectors.” This subdivision of cell sitesinto sectors enables more efficient use of radio spectrum which, inturn, enables cellular telecommunications service to be provided to morewireless devices within the original cell site area. The definedgeographic areas of MSCs, cell sites and cell site sectors are locationareas for which the MSC controls voice and data communications to andfrom individual wireless devices. Therefore, the MSC maintains currentinformation about which wireless devices are served by which cell sitesand cell site sectors. The geographic area of an MSC may be quite large,hundreds or thousands of square miles. The geographic area of a cellsite typically covers a few square miles or less (especially in urbanareas) and the geographic area of a cell site sector is about one-thirdthat of a cell site. However, for a variety of vital wirelesscommunications services, as well as the ability to enable additionalvalue-added services, much more precise positioning information ofwireless devices may be required.

Precise wireless device location information derived by a wirelessnetwork has become increasingly important in recent years. So-called“Location Based Services” (LBS) were originally required to locatewireless telecommunications network users in emergency situations. Anindividual may use a wireless device to call for emergency assistance.The wireless telecommunications network automatically derives thelocation of the mobile device and uses that location information toinform emergency services personnel of the whereabouts of the caller.This scenario is in contrast to wireline telephones used to call foremergency assistance as a wireline telephone used to make an emergencycall is always associated with a static geographic location or address.Wireless or mobile devices, on the other hand, can be in any geographiclocation and can be moved from place to place. Hence, technologiesrequired to precisely, automatically and dynamically locate a moveablewireless device in real-time were implemented and deployed by thewireless network operators. These technologies have proven highly usefuland valuable enabling emergency services personnel to locate individualsin emergency situations.

In the late 1990 s, both as a result of government regulations requiringlocation-based technologies for emergency services and the creation oftechnology standards and specifications to provide location informationfor wireless devices, many other value-added applications and serviceswere created to make use of wireless location information. Theseapplications and services are provided by both the wireless networkoperators themselves as well as by third-party application and servicesproviders. Principally among these are two categories of applicationsand services: 1) mapping and navigation services and 2) so-called“concierge” services. Mapping and navigation services provide wirelessdevice users the ability to find points of interest, proximity to thosepoints of interest and real-time directions to get to those points ofinterest. Concierge services provide a variety of information to a userbased on their current and real-time location or a location input by theuser. Among these services are listings of closest locations of pointsof interest such as hotels, restaurants, transportation andentertainment venues. Many of these services, including emergencyservices, require precise location information which may only beobtained if the wireless network employs additional sophisticatedlocation technologies. Chief among these technologies is the satellitebased Global Positioning System (GPS). Use of GPS fir precise locationservices requires GPS technology to be incorporated into wirelessdevices as well as within the wireless network. However, to provideprecise location information about wireless devices where GPS is notused, smart antenna technology may be employed. Smart antenna technologyrequires special equipment to be deployed at each cell site. Thisequipment analyzes multiple radio transceiver signals coming fromwireless devices. Mathematical algorithms are used to determine theposition of the wireless device based on the time difference of arrival(TDOA) or the angle of arrival (AOA) of the radio signals, or both. GPSis typically more accurate for precise positioning of a wireless device;however, both GPS and smart antenna technology have the potential toprovide Latitude and Longitude coordinates for a wireless device from afew feet to a few hundred yards. Therefore, wireless networks currentlymaintain the ability to provide positioning information for particularwireless devices for areas as wide as an MSC serving area, to smallercell site areas, to smaller cell site sector areas and many providepositioning information to a high degree of resolution by providing moreprecise latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates.

In a seemingly unrelated area of technology, distinct from wirelessdevice location technology, there exists a myriad of current methodsthat provide for authentication, verification and validation of useractivity as well as for user identity. These technologies are used toensure that an individual is the actual person claimed for the benefitof the activity or transaction. Today, many employed technologies havegreatly reduced fraudulent transactions, but instances of fraudulentactivity still occur. These technologies are employed, for instance,when an individual engages in some transaction that requires some degreeof security. An automated financial transaction is a common example of asecure transaction requiring mechanisms to authenticate, verify andvalidate the identity of the individual attempting to perform thetransactional activity. Primary examples of such transactions includeaccessing automated teller machines (ATMs) to obtain money or to performsonic other banking function and the use of credit or debit cards at apoint of sale (POS) to make a purchase. Even electronic commerce-basedtransactions (e-commerce) and online banking, where an individual entersfinancial information into a website form on a personal computer to makea purchase or to perform a financial activity, require some form ofauthentication, verification and validation. Typical means toauthenticate individuals attempting a secure transaction include use ofpersonal identification numbers (PINs) or some other type of informationthat is assumed to be known only by an authorized user involved in thetransaction. Other means of documentation may also be used to verifyidentity, such as a driver's license or other form of photoidentification. Even the use of biometric devices, such as fingerprintscanners, may be used to authenticate an individual attempting toperform a secure transaction. However, even with these and many othertechnologies employed, fraudulent activity still occurs and identitytheft and misrepresentation remains a problem.

In addition, many existing fraud detection and prevention technologiescan and do provide a false positive indication of fraudulent activity.Besides the fraud detection and prevention mechanisms already mentioned,other technologies may be employed such as behavioral profiling which isused to detect anomalous behavior. These technologies employ intelligentalgorithms to analyze past user behavior when a user attempts to engagein a some activity or transaction that is similar to a previous activityor transaction. If the individual's behavior when engaging in a secureactivity is not consistent with that individual's past behavior, alikelihood of fraudulent activity may be deduced. Common examples ofthis situation are when an individual uses a credit card to purchasesome product or service in a foreign country where they have neverpreviously performed a similar transaction. Or, the amount of aparticular transaction is significantly different from any previoustransaction. This behavior may appear anomalous to a fraud detectionsystem and the activity or transaction being performed may be terminatedbefore any potential fraud is perpetrated. If this is in fact a falsepositive indication and the individual is actually an authorized user,the user suffers the consequences of a failed transaction and theservice provider is perceived to have provided a poor quality ofservice.

Also, debit or credit cards may be stolen, PINs may become compromisedand information meant to be held only by authorized users may becomeknown to others. The reality is that other means to performauthentication, verification and validation of authorized users toassist in an authentication process continues to have relevance fortransactions where fraudulent activity remains a problem. In many of theexamples provided, the authentication technology employed involves someuser interaction with a computerized device that is typically connectedto a data communications network. The data communications network maymaintain location information representing the actual geographic placewhere a secure transaction or some activity by an individual isoccurring. This is true in the case of ATM transactions, automated POStransactions, personal computer-based transactions and others.

To provide authentication or additional authentication confidence whereindividuals attempt to perform some automated secure transaction oractivity, the location of the secure transaction or activity may beascertained from the network that is being accessed via thetransactional application. As the use of wireless devices has becomeubiquitous, it may be reasonably assumed that individuals carrying sucha device would have the device with them while attempting to engage in asecure transaction or activity. In this case, comparing the location ofthe wireless device obtained from the wireless network with the locationwhere the user of the wireless device is attempting to engage in asecure transaction or activity, may provide resultant information thatmay be used to authenticate, verify or validate that the user is in factwho be claims to be. Moreover, if the result from such a geographiclocation comparison reveals that the wireless device is in some locationother than where the secure transaction or activity is taking place, itmay be reasonably assumed that the user is not who be claims to be.Depending on the resolution of the geographic locations obtained fromboth the wireless network and some other data communications networkwhere an activity or transaction occurs, varying degrees of confidencemay be ascertained as to the authenticity of that activity ortransaction. False positive indications of anomalous behavior may alsobe avoided. An example of this may be when an individual performs anactivity or transaction and that individual is in a significantlydifferent location than previously visited but the individual is in factwho he claims to be.

Besides the mitigation of fraudulent activity, knowledge of the locationof one or more individuals for use in value-added applications may beuseful. Such knowledge of both the location of a wireless device as wellas the location of the wireless device user performing some automatedactivity or transaction may provide utility regardless of whether thatactivity requires security. Many value-added applications may benefitfrom such comparative geographic location information such as socialnetworking applications or multi-player online gaming applications whereit may be desirable for an individual to know the proximity of friendswith which they wish to communicate. These friends may be engaging insome automated activity where the application is connected to a computernetwork where location information may be ascertained or they may bewireless device users themselves where the location of their wirelessdevices may be obtained from the same or another wireless network.

Many automated fraud detection and prevention systems may assign a valueor range of values indicating the likelihood of fraudulent activity.These assigned values may depend on the security level required for aparticular transaction or activity as well as the methods used toindicate fraud. Such a mechanism may also be employed when thecomparison of two or more locations, at least one being the location ofa wireless device obtained from a wireless network, results in theability to ascertain varying degrees of confidence based on theproximity of the two geographic locations being compared.

To successfully compare two or more geographic locations, one of whichbeing the location of a wireless device obtained from a wirelessnetwork, one or more unique wireless device identification values isrequired to appropriately associate the geographic locations with eachother. Many unique wireless identification values are available for use.Among those that may be appropriate is the Mobile Directory Number (MDN)which is defined as the dialable directory number of the wirelessdevice. The MDN is a uniquely provisioned value for each cellular-basedtelecommunications user. Other unique wireless device identificationvalues that may be used include the serial number of the wireless deviceor the unique subscription identifier that may be found, for example, ona smart card used within a wireless device. Depending on the wirelesstechnology and device used, the unique wireless device identifierappropriate for the device may be used to facilitate the geographiclocation comparison. Besides cellular telecommunications communicationstechnology, other wireless devices from which location information maybe derived and obtained from a data communications network may besupported. These wireless devices may include any type of GlobalPositioning System (GPS) device, Mobile Internet Device (MID), RadioFrequency Identification (RFID) device, Near Field Communications (NFC)device (such as Bluetooth or infrared-based devices) or any wirelessdevice.

When performing a comparison among two or more particular geographiclocations, the location information for a wireless device may beprovided in a variety of formats. Mobile Switching Center (MSC)identification, cell site identification, cell sector identification andeven Latitude and Longitude or other coordinates may be provided as wellas a geographic area or place name mapped to these identifiers andcoordinates. For location information obtained from other types of datacommunications networks, the format may be in the form of a physicalgeographic address (e.g., street number, street name, city, state,province, country, postal code, ZIP code, etc.), a physical datacommunications address (e.g., an Internet Protocol geographic address ofthe form XX.XX.XX.XX), a logical or virtual place or data communicationsaddress (e.g., a post office box or a uniform resource locator or URLaddress), some representation of an address (e.g., an alias name orlabel identifying an address), a geographic place name (e.g., “CentralPark”), mapping coordinates (e.g., Latitude and Longitude or otherprojection coordinates) or a mapping identifier in some customizedformat. A system and method that compares suit geographic locations witheach other that may be obtained in any of these formats requires amechanism to convert these different location formats into a commonformat type enabling comparison. A method or mechanism to deriveproximity among the geographic locations that are compared may also bebeneficial.

There is a need for additional and improved systems and methods toassist, for example, with fraud management systems and identityrecognition and authentication. These systems are employed in a varietyof industries, including banking and finance, commerce, security andothers. In many cases, existing technologies employ detection methods asopposed to prevention methods. That is, many technologies and systemscurrently in place attempt to detect some fraudulent activity after ithas occurred, and then prevent similar fraudulent activity in the futurebased on this detection. These methods are not optimal as fraudulentactivity may be successful in at least one instance prior to detectionand subsequent prevention. Prevention of fraudulent activity the firsttime an attempt is made is certainly preferable, as well as reducingincidences of false positive indications of fraud. No fraud detectionand prevention system is perfect and there is always a need to employadditional technologies to further reduce fraud and identity theft,thereby reducing the economic impact of such undesired activity.Although many fraud detection and prevention technologies exist today,these technologies are constantly evolving and new fraud preventiontechnologies can always be employed to maintain additional security andlessen the economic impact. In addition, a system that can provideproximity information among one or more locations has implicationsbeyond fraud prevention. Proximity information can add great value toother technologies such as social communications among groups andindividuals. Any technology that enables such social communications maybe enhanced by allowing users of that technology to know the proximityof other users.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide systemsand methods to compare a wireless device's location obtained from awireless network with the wireless device user's location. This objectof the present invention is achieved by obtaining the location of awireless device from a wireless network and obtaining the location ofthe wireless device user's location from another data network. Thelocation of the wireless device user is obtained as that user performssome automated activity by accessing a device associated with that datanetwork. The obtained locations are compared to determine proximityamong them and a result based on that proximity may be derived.

Another object of the present invention is to provide systems andmethods to reduce incidences of fraud by validating users in aparticular location where they are performing some automated activityrequiring access to a secure system. This object of the presentinvention is achieved by determining the proximity between a wirelessdevice's location and the wireless device user's location and providingthose proximity results to a results processing system. Based on theresultant proximity, users accessing the automated system may bedetermined to be valid or not.

Another object of the present invention is to provide systems andmethods to compare a wireless device's location obtained from a wirelessnetwork with the wireless device user's location to determine somelikelihood of fraudulent activity. This object of the present inventionis achieved by assigning an algorithmic value to the comparison resultsof the compared locations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following description with referenceto the drawings. Embodiments of the present invention are illustrated byway of example, and not limitation, in the figures of the accompanyingdrawings, and in which like references indicate the same or similarelements.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 depicts the functional entities and modules of an exampleLocation Comparison Engine. Included in the depiction is exampleconnectivity to a Wireless Network, an Activity Mediation System, aResults Processing System, a Wireless Device Location Database, anActivity Source Location Database, a Location Comparison Module, and aLocation Comparison Results Module, in accordance with the principles ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 shows exemplary connectivity of a Wireless Network to theWireless Device Location Module and the concerned functional entities ofan exemplary Wireless Network including the Cell Sites, Mobile SwitchingCenter and a Mobile Location Server.

FIG. 3 shows exemplary entries in a Wireless Device Location Databasedepicting an association of a unique Wireless Device ID to an obtainedLocation Position and a Geographic Place.

FIG. 4 shows exemplary connectivity of an Activity Mediation System tothe Activity Source Location Module and the concerned functionalentities of an exemplary Activity Mediation System including anexemplary Location Capture Module and an optional Location ResolutionDatabase.

FIG. 5 shows exemplary entries in an Activity Source Location Databasedepict in an association of a unique Wireless Device ID to an obtainedActivity Source Location.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary scenario whereby the location of an onlineuser transaction from a personal computer is compared with the locationof a wireless device where the result of such a location comparison isclose location proximity.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary scenario whereby the location of an onlineuser transact on from a personal computer is compared with the locationof a wireless device where the result of such a location comparison farlocation proximity.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary scenario whereby the location of an AutomatedTeller Machine (ATM) transaction is compared with the location of awireless device where the result of such a location comparison is closelocation proximity.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary relationship of the information elements toattain a location comparison encompassed by the Location ComparisonModule.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary information flow diagram of the LocationComparison Engine.

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary process flow diagram of the LocationComparison Engine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

In one embodiment of the present invention, a Location Comparison Engineis provided that enables the location of a wireless device obtained fromthe wireless network to be compared with the location of the wirelessdevice user engaging in some automated application, transaction oractivity at some place where that location information may beautomatically derived.

In one embodiment, a Location Comparison Module of the present inventionreceives both wireless device location information and wireless deviceuser location information in a multiplicity of formats. In thisembodiment, the Location Comparison Module determines the resultingproximity among two or more obtained locations being compared. Theresults of the comparison are then passed to a Location ComparisonResults Module that properly formats those results for use with anapplication. The results may be provided in a multiplicity of formatsand used to authenticate, verify or validate a transaction or activityperformed through the application, or provide some utility to anapplication where the results of a comparison of those locations isrequired. Examples of the obtained formats for wireless device locationare Mobile Switching Center (MSC) ID, Cell Site ID, Cell Sector ID,Latitude and Longitude coordinates, other projection coordinates or ageographic area or place name.

In an exemplary operation of the Location Comparison Engine, theActivity Source Location Module receives location information from someActivity Mediation System, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) address.The Activity Mediation System may be any network or system that performsas an intermediary system between an automated transaction or activityby a user and the Location Comparison Engine. The location informationmay be obtained in a multiplicity of formats according to thecapabilities of the Activity Mediation System. Examples of the obtainedwireless device user's location are a physical geographic address (e.g.,street number, street name, city, state, province, country, postal code,ZIP code, etc.), a physical data communications address (e.g., anInternet Protocol geographic address of the form XX.XX.XX.XX), a logicalor virtual place or data communications address (e.g., a post office boxor a uniform resource locator or URL address), some representation of anaddress (e.g., an alias name or label identifying an address), ageographic place name (e.g., “Central Park”), mapping coordinates (e.g.,Latitude and Longitude or other projection coordinates) or a mappingidentifier in some customized format. The location information isobtained along with a Wireless Device identifier (ID). The WirelessDevice ID is associated with a wireless device user engaging in someautomated activity, for example, accessing an ATM to receive money. TheWireless Device ID may have been previously registered with, forexample, a financial institution and is associated with the personaldatabase records of that user. The unique Wireless Device ID istypically the dialable Mobile Directory Number (MDN) of the user'swireless device, but may assume other values as appropriate, such as anElectronic Serial Number (ESN) of the device, an International MobileSubscriber Identity (IMSI) or an International Mobile Equipment identity(IMEI). Use of the MDN is typical due to global uniqueness amongwireless device users and its common use in wireless industry networkcommunications protocols. The MDN may also be an identifier that iscommonly used by individuals for personal profiles that may beregistered in a variety of service databases, such as for electroniccommerce transactions. The MDN of the wireless device may be used toquery the Wireless Network via the Wireless Device Location Module forcurrent or last known location information of the wireless device, orlocation information pertaining to the wireless device may be obtainedautonomously by the Wireless Device Location Module from the WirelessNetwork. Either one of the modules (the Wireless Device Location Moduleand the Activity Source Location Module) may receive locationinformation independently of one another and based on independentevents. Location information may be requested by these modules or thelocation information may be obtained autonomously.

Once two or more locations are obtained by the Location ComparisonEngine, this location information is passed along with the associatedand corresponding Wireless Device ID to databases within the LocationComparison Engine to resolve the location information into anappropriate format for adequate comparison. The exemplary WirelessDevice Location Database and Activity Source Location Database areemployed, to resolve the obtained location information into appropriategeographic mapping information to be used for a particular comparison.The resulting sets of geographic location values derived from therespective databases and associated with the unique Wireless Device IDpreviously obtained are sent to the Location Comparison Module.

Additionally, the date, time or both of the obtained locationinformation may be recorded as well as other information such as theidentifier of the network from which the location was obtained. Thisdate and time information may be especially important during theauthentication, verification and validation process to potentiallycompare the times of past known locations of wireless devices with thetimes of the most currently known locations of those devices. The age ofthe last obtained location of a wireless device may assist indetermining the authenticity of some purported activity being performedby the wireless device user. Also, time information may assist inevaluating a location comparison. The location information obtained fromthe wireless network may have become stale, while the location of thepurported wireless device user performing some automated activitychanges. Depending on the obtained time, along with the locationinformation, of a wireless device, a wireless device user's behavior maybe either confirmed or determined to be suspect when compared with thepreviously or last known obtained time and location.

The Location Comparison Module uses the Wireless Device ID to mutuallyassociate the obtained wireless device location with the obtainedlocation of some automated activity by a wireless device user. TheWireless Device ID may be used as a unique identifier to query thewireless network for the location of that wireless device. That sameWireless Device ID may also be used as a unique identifier within apersonal profile that maintains attributes about a wireless device userwithin some other independent network or system. The Location ComparisonModule then analyzes the associated locations and determines the degreeof proximity among those locations. The Location Comparison Module thenpasses the proximity results of the comparison along with the associatedWireless Device ID to a Location Comparison Results Module. The LocationComparison Results Module analyzes the obtained proximity informationand assigns one or more results to the Wireless Device ID. The resultsmay be attributed and made available in a multiplicity of exemplaryformats such as arithmetic rankings or scores based on an acceptablepredefined distance or a Boolean expression based on a predetermineddistance threshold (e.g., a “true” result if the comparison is within apredefined distance or a “false” result if the comparison is outside apredefined distance). The results may also take the form of theappropriately formatted independent locations themselves for use in aparticular application. This may be the case, for example, when anapplication requires the locations themselves to add utility or value tothe application, such as in any social communications application, forexample in social networking or online multiplayer gaming applications.

The Location Comparison Results Module may then pass the appropriatelyformatted results of the location comparison for a particularapplication along with the associated Wireless Device ID to a ResultsProcessing System. The Results Processing System may reside within, orbe the same as, the Activity Mediation System or some other system thatrequires the location comparison results. An exemplary ResultsProcessing System may apply the comparison results to any type ofapplication regardless of the results or the type of application. Theseapplications may include identity authentication systems, activity fraudmanagement systems, social networking applications or online multiplayergaming applications.

In FIG. 1, one embodiment of a Location Comparison Engine of the presentinvention includes a Wireless Device Location Module 140, an ActivitySource Location Module 150, a Wireless Device Location Database 120, anActivity Source Location Database 130, a Location Comparison Module 100,and a Location Comparison Results Module 110, in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention. The Location Comparison Module 100compares location information that is obtained from both the WirelessNetwork 200 and the Activity Mediation system 300 and subsequentlypassed to this module from both the Wireless Device Location Database120 and the Activity Source Location Data 130. The Wireless Networkprovides location information for the Wireless Device 214 and theActivity Mediation System provides location information from someActivity by the Purported Wireless Device User at a Source GeographicLocation 310. Results of the location comparison are sent from theLocation Comparison Results Module 110 to a Results Processing System320. The Results Processing System 320 may then apply the locationcomparison results to an application that is being used by the WirelessDevice User 310. If the location comparison results demonstrate closeproximity of the user to the application being accessed or the activitybeing performed, a reasonable assertion may be made that the user isauthentic, or the activity being performed is valid. In contrast, if thelocation comparison results demonstrate far proximity of the user to theapplication being accessed or the activity being performed, a reasonableassertion may be made that the user is not authentic, or the activitybeing performed is invalid. The Results Processing System 320 may be thesame functional entity as the Activity Mediation System 300 or may be aseparate functional entity from the Activity Mediation System 300.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary Data Communications Protocol 142 between theWireless Device Module 140 of the Location Comparison Engine and anexemplary Mobile Location Server 202 within an exemplary WirelessNetwork 200. Wireless device location information is obtained by theWireless Device Location Module 140 via the Data Communications Protocol142. The Data Communications Protocol 142 may be based, for example, onthe Internet Protocol (IP). Examples of the communications protocolsused to transfer location information may include, but are not limitedto, the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP/IP), the User DatagramProtocol (UDP/IP) and the Hyper-Text Transport Protocol (HTTP). Theexemplary Mobile Location Server 202 may retrieve and store locationinformation about any wireless device served by the Wireless Network200. In FIG. 2, the Mobile Location Server 202 may obtain and store thecurrent or latest known location information known about the WirelessDevice 214. The Mobile Location Server 202 may obtain and store theavailable location information about exemplary Wireless Device 214 byobtaining location information from a multiplicity of functionalentities within the Wireless Network 200. These functional entities mayinclude, but are not limited to, the exemplary Mobile Switching Center(MSC) 206, the exemplary Home Location Register (HLR) 208 or optionally,exemplary Location Derivation Equipment 204. The MSC 206 and HLR 208typically maintain the MSC identifier (MSC ID) as well as the identifiervalues for exemplary Cell Sites 210, 216, 220 and exemplary Cell Sectors217, 218, 219 that the MSC 206 controls. The MSC ID is representative ofthe geographic location area encompassing all of the Cell Sites 210,216, 220 and Cell Sectors 217, 218, 219 that provide radiocommunications coverage over an aggregated geographic area. An exemplaryCell Site 210 depicts the geographic location area where the exemplaryWireless Device 214 is currently located. Therefore, the exemplaryMobile Location Server 202 may transfer location information to theWireless Device Location Module 140 that includes an MSC ID and a CellSite ID representing the geographic areas represented by the MSC 206 andthe Cell Site 210.

In addition to the geographic location areas represented by MSC ID andCell Site ID, more precise geographic location information may beobtained and stored by the Mobile Location Server 202 and subsequentlypassed to the Wireless Device Location Module 140. Optional LocationDerivation Equipment 204 may exist within a Wireless Network 200 toderive precise location information of Wireless Device 214 using, forexample, Global Positioning System (GPS) technology or Smart Antennatechnology. Precise location information may be derived via an exemplaryRadio Transceiver System 212, within Cell Site 210, that communicateswith Wireless Device 214. The Radio Transceiver System 212 may employassisted GPS or Smart Antenna Technology. The Radio Transceiver System212 may work in conjunction with the Location Derivation Equipment 204to derive precise coordinates for the location of Wireless Device 214.The Location Derivation Equipment 204 may subsequently pass deriveddetailed coordinates such as Latitude and Longitude, or other projectioncoordinates, to the Mobile Location Server 202. Regardless of the degreeof resolution and the format of geographic location informationsupported, the Wireless Device Location Module 140 obtains that locationinformation from the Mobile Location Server 202 via the exemplary DataCommunications Protocol 142.

FIG. 3 depicts exemplary entries in an exemplary Wireless DeviceLocation Database 120 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In particular, as depictedin FIG. 3, a first entry 124 includes an association among a WirelessDevice ID 121 (e.g., in this case an MDN), the Location Position 122, aGeographic Place 123 and the Date and Time 129. The Wireless Device IDis used by the Wireless Device Location Module 140 in FIGS. 1 and 2 toeither request the Location Position 122 from the Mobile Location Server202 within the Wireless Network 200 in FIG. 2 or autonomously receivethe Location Position 122 from the Mobile Location Server 202 within theWireless Network 200. The obtained Location Position 122 is thenassociated with the Geographic Place 123 as well as the Date and Time129 in the database. The entries for Geographic Place 123 in thedatabase may be pre-populated for the obtained Location Position 122 orotherwise derived based upon known mapping information within thedatabase. Examples of the Location Position 122 value obtained via theWireless Device Location Module 140 in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be MSC ID, CellSite ID, Cell Site/Cell Sector ID, Latitude or Longitude coordinates orany other projection coordinates that may be associated with aGeographic Place 123. Examples of the Geographic Place 123 entries inthe database are a Geographic Name, some Geographic Identifier (ID)value that facilitates a subsequent location comparison or Coordinatesthat may take on the form of Latitude and Longitude or any otherprojection coordinates that may facilitate a subsequent locationcomparison. Examples of the Date and Time 129 entries in the databaseare also provided. The Date and Time 129 entries may, for example,represent a previously known date and time of a particular obtainedwireless device location to assist in determining, for example, theauthenticity or validity of some activity being performed.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary Data Communications Protocol 152 between theActivity Source Location Module 150 of the Location Comparison Engineand an exemplary and optional Location Resolution Database 304 withinthe Activity Mediation System 300. The Location Resolution Database 304may be used to resolve raw location information obtained via theLocation Capture Module 302 of the Activity Mediation System 300depending on the format of the location information obtained by theLocation Capture Module 302.

Activity source location information is obtained by the Activity SourceLocation Module 150 via the Data Communications Protocol 152. TheActivity Source Location Module 150 may receive an autonomous requestfrom the Activity Mediation System 300 to compare the location of thewireless device with the location of the user accessing an applicationor engaged in some automated activity supported by the ActivityMediation System 300. Similarly, a request may be made by the ActivitySource Location Module 150 to obtain the activity source location to beused for comparison. The Data Communications Protocol 152 may be based,for example, on the Internet Protocol (IP). Examples of thecommunications protocols used to transfer location information mayinclude, but are not limited to, the Transmission Control Protocol(TCP/IP), the User Datagram Protocol (UDP/IP) and the Hyper-TextTransport Protocol (HTTP). The exemplary Location Capture Module 302 mayretrieve and store location information about any purported

transaction or activity detected from a transactional or otherapplication-based activity by a Wireless Device User accessing thesystem or network at some Source Geographic Location 310. In FIG. 4, theLocation Capture Module 302 may obtain and store the current or latestknown location information detected from a transactional or otherapplication-based activity by the Wireless Device User 310. Examples oftransactional or application-based activities may be a point of sale(POS) consumer transactions, financial interactions with AutomatedTeller Machines (ATMs) or accessing social communications applicationssuch as social networking applications or online multiplayer gamingapplications. The Location Capture Module 302 may obtain and store thelocation information derived from the Source Geographic Location 310.The format of the obtained Source Geographic Location 310 informationmay be a commonly used format or some custom format used by a particularActivity Mediation System 300. Example formats of this locationinformation may be a physical geographic address (e.g., any one, ormore, of street number, street name, city, state, province, country,postal code, ZIP code, etc.), a physical data communications address(e.g., an Internet Protocol geographic address of the form XX.XX.XX.XX),a logical or virtual place or data communications address (e.g., a postoffice box or a uniform resource locator or URL address), somerepresentation of an address (e.g., an alias name or label identifyingan address), a geographic place name (e.g., “Central Park”), mappingcoordinates (e.g., Latitude and Longitude or other projectioncoordinates) or a mapping identifier in some customized format.

In addition to the example Source Geographic Location 310 areasprovided, more precise geographic location information may be obtainedand stored by the Location Capture Module 302 and subsequently passed tothe Activity Source Location Module 150. For example, the WirelessDevice User 310 may be accessing a GPS-based application or the ActivityMediation System 300 may in fact be a Wireless Network that is the sameWireless Network 200 or another Wireless Network that has similarcapabilities to Wireless Network 200.

FIG. 5 depicts exemplary entries in an exemplary Activity SourceLocation Database 130 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. In particular, as depictedin FIG. 5, a first entry 134 includes an association among a WirelessDevice ID 121 (e.g., in this case an MDN), the Activity Source Location132, a Geographic Place 133 as well as the Date and Time 138 in thedatabase. The Wireless Device ID is used by the Activity Source LocationModule 130 in FIGS. 1 and 4 to either request the Location Position 132from the Location Capture Module 302 (or optionally from the LocationResolution Database 304 that may be used within the Activity MediationSystem 300 in FIG. 4 to apply an appropriate format to facilitate use ofthe derived location information) within the Activity Mediation System300 in FIG. 4 or autonomously receive the Activity Source Location 132from the Location Capture Module 302 within the Activity MediationSystem 300. The obtained Activity Source Location 132 is then associatedwith the Geographic Place 133 in the database. The entries forGeographic Place 133 in the database may be pre-populated for theobtained Activity Source Location 132 or otherwise derived based uponknown mapping information within the database. Examples of the ActivitySource Location 132 value obtained via the Activity Source LocationModule 150 in FIGS. 1 and 4 may be a commonly used format or some customformat used by a particular Activity Mediation System 300. Exampleformats of this location information may be a physical geographicaddress (e.g., any one, or more, of street number, street name, city,state, province, country, postal code, ZIP code, etc.), a physical datacommunications address (e.g., an Internet Protocol geographic address ofthe form XX.XX.XX.XX), a logical or virtual place or data communicationsaddress (e.g., a post of box or a uniform resource locator or URLaddress), some representation of an address (e.g., an alias name orlabel identifying an address), a geographic place name (e.g., “CentralPark”), mapping coordinates (e.g., Latitude and Longitude or otherprojection coordinates) or a mapping identifier in some customizedformat. Examples of the Geographic Place 133 entries in the database area Geographic Name, some Geographic identifier (ID) value thatfacilitates a subsequent location comparison or Coordinates that maytake on the form of Latitude and Longitude or any other projectioncoordinates that may facilitate a subsequent location comparison.Examples of the Date and Time 138 entries in the database are alsoprovided. The Date and Time 138 entries may, for example, represent apreviously known date and time of a particular obtained activitylocation to assist in determining, for example, the authenticity orvalidity of some activity being performed.

FIG. 6 depicts one embodiment of the present invention whereby theActivity of a Purported Wireless Device User at a Source GeographicLocation 310 is an Online Transaction, such as an electronic commerce(e-commerce) transaction. In this example, the Wireless Device User 310and the Wireless Device 214, are within close proximity of each otherand within the same Geographic Area 500. The Wireless Device User 310may access a Personal Computer 510 to make an online purchase of goodsor services via an automated e-commerce application accessible via theInternet 520. The Personal Computer 510 maintains a geographically-basedphysical internet protocol (IP) address in the format XX.XX.XX.XX thatmay be used by the e-commerce application. In this example, the PersonalComputer 510 is within some Geographic Area 500 represented by thegeographically-based physical IP address. The Activity Mediation System300 may host the e-commerce application being accessed by the WirelessDevice User 310. The Wireless device User 310 may provide, for example,a Mobile Directory Number (MDN) to save as a Wireless Device ID whileaccessing the e-commerce application, or may have previously providedthe MDN that may be registered or otherwise stored within a personalprofile by the e-commerce application. As the Wireless Device User 310proceeds within the e-commerce application, a need for the ActivityMediation System 300 to authenticate, validate, or verify that WirelessDevice User 310, or the activity invoked by the Wireless Device User310, may occur, for example, to process an online financial transactionor payment. In this example, the Activity Mediation System 300 passesthe Wireless Device User's 310 MDN and physical IP address of theWireless Device User's 310 Personal Computer 510 to the exemplaryLocation Comparison Engine. The Location Comparison Engine maysubsequently request the location of the Wireless Device 214 from theWireless Network 200. To facilitate the location request from theWireless Network 200, the MDN of the Wireless Device 214 previouslyobtained from the Activity Mediation System 300 may be used. In thisembodiment of the present invention, the Location Comparison Enginereceives the request location of the Wireless Device 214 from theWireless Network 200 and compares that location with the physical IPaddress received from the Activity Mediation System 300. This comparisonis initiated, invoked and performed, for example, as described for FIGS.1, 2, and 4 using databases as described for FIGS. 3 and 5. Theexemplary Location Comparison Results Module 110 may then assign aresult to the location comparison. As the Wireless Device User 310 iswithin the same Geographic Area 500 as the Wireless Device 214, theLocation Comparison Results Module 110, assigns a result indicating thatthe Wireless Device User 310 is within the same Geographic Area 500 asthe Wireless Device 214. The Location Comparison Results Module 110 maythen provide these results to the Results Processing System 320, which,in this example, resides as part of the Activity Mediation System 300.The exemplary Activity Mediation System 300 may use the obtainedlocation comparison results to, for example, demonstrate some degree ofpositive authentication, verification or validation of the WirelessDevice User 310, or the Online Transaction activity being performed bythe Wireless Device User 310, as it may be reasonable to assume that theWireless Device User 310 who owns the Wireless Device 214 has the devicewith him.

FIG. 7 depicts another embodiment of the present invention whereby theActivity of a Purported Wireless Device User at a Source GeographicLocation 310 is an Online Transaction, such as an electronic commerce(e-commerce) transaction. In this example, the Wireless Device User 310and the Wireless Device 214, are not within close proximity of eachother and are not within the same Geographic Area 500. In this example,the Wireless Device 214 is within some other Geographic Area 530. TheWireless Device User 310 may access a Personal Computer 510 to make anonline purchase of goods or services via an automated e-commerceapplication accessible via the Internet 520. The Personal Computer 510maintains a geographically-based physical Internet protocol (IP) addressin the format XX.XX.XX.XX that may be used by the e-commerceapplication. In this example, the Personal Computer 510 is within someGeographic Area 500 represented by the geographically-based physical IPaddress. The Activity Mediation System 300 may host the e-commerceapplication being accessed by the Wireless Device User 310. The Wirelessdevice User 319 may provide, for example, a Mobile Directory Number(MDN) to serve as a Wireless Device ID while accessing the e-commerceapplication, or may have previously provided the MDN that may beregistered or otherwise stored within a personal profile by thee-commerce application. As the Wireless Device User 310 proceeds withinthe e-commerce application, a need for the Activity Mediation System 300to authenticate, validate, or verify that Wireless Device User 310, orthe activity invoked by the Wireless Device User 310, may occur, forexample, to process an online financial transaction or payment. In thisexample, the Activity Mediation System 300 passes the Wireless DeviceUser's 310 MDN and physical IP address of the Wireless Device User's 310Personal Computer 510 to the exemplary Location Comparison Engine. TheLocation Comparison Engine may subsequently request the location of theWireless Device 214 from the Wireless Network 200. To facilitate thelocation request from the Wireless Network 200, the MDN of the WirelessDevice 214 previously obtained from the Activity Mediation System 300may be used. In this embodiment of the present invention, the LocationComparison Engine receives the requested location of the Wireless Device214 from the Wireless Network 200 and compares that location with thephysical IP address received from the Activity Mediation System 300.This comparison is initiated, invoked and performed, for example, asdescribed for FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 using databases as described for FIGS. 3and 5. The exemplary Location Comparison Results Module 110 may thenassign a result to the location comparison. As the Wireless Device User310 is not within the same Geographic Area 500 as the Wireless Device214, the Location Comparison Results Module 110, assigns a resultindicating that the Wireless Device User 310 is not within the sameGeographic Area 500 as the Wireless Device 214. The Location ComparisonResults Module 110 may then provide these results to the ResultsProcessing System 320, which, in this example, resides as part of theActivity Mediation System 300. The exemplary Activity Mediation System300 may use the obtained location comparison results to, for example,demonstrate some degree of negative authentication, verification orvalidation of the Wireless Device User 310, or the Online Transactionactivity being performed by the Wireless Device User 310, as it may bereasonable to assume that the Wireless Device User 310 who owns theWireless Device 214 should have the device with him.

FIG. 8 depicts another embodiment of the present invention whereby theActivity of a Purported Wireless Device User at a Source GeographicLocation 310 is obtaining money from an Automated Teller Machine (ATM)540. In this example, the Wireless Device User 310 and the WirelessDevice 214, are within close proximity of each other and within the sameGeographic Area 550. The Wireless Device User 310 may access an ATM 540to obtain money. The ATM 540 maintains a geographically-based physicaldata address that may be an IP address in the format XX.XX.XX.XX or someother proprietary data communications address used by ATM or financialinstitution associated with the ATM. In this example, the ATM 540 iswithin some Geographic Area 550 represented by the geographically-basedphysical data communications address. The Activity Mediation System 300may support the ATM application being accessed by the Wireless DeviceUser 310. The Wireless device User 310 may provide, for example, aMobile Directory Number (MDN) to serve as a Wireless Device ID whileaccessing the ATM application, or may have previously provided the MDNthat may be registered or otherwise stored within a personal profileaccessed by the ATM application. As the Wireless Device User 310proceeds within the ATM application, a need for the Activity MediationSystem 300 to authenticate, validate, or verify that Wireless DeviceUser 310, or the activity invoked by the Wireless Device User 310, mayoccur, for example, to process a cash withdrawal. In this example, theActivity Mediation System 300 passes the Wireless Device User's 310 MDNand physical data communications address of the ATM 540 to the exemplaryLocation Comparison Engine. The Location Comparison Engine maysubsequently request the location of the Wireless Device 214 from theWireless Network 200. To facilitate the location request from theWireless Network 200, the MDN of the Wireless Device 214 previouslyobtained from the Activity Mediation System 300 may be used. In thisembodiment of the present invention, the Location Comparison Enginereceives the requested location of the Wireless Device 214 from theWireless Network 200 and compares that location with the physical datacommunications address received from the Activity Mediation System 300.This comparison is initiated, invoked and performed, for example, asdescribed for FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 using databases as described for FIGS. 3and 5. The exemplary Location Comparison Results Module 110 may thenassign a result to the location comparison. As the Wireless Device User310 accessing the ATM 540 is within the same Geographic Area 550 as theWireless Device 214, the Location Comparison Results Module 110, assignsa result indicating that the Wireless Device User 310 is within the sameGeographic Area 550 as the Wireless Device 214. The Location ComparisonResults Module 110 may then provide these results to the ResultsProcessing System 320, which, in this example, resides as part of theActivity Mediation System 300. The exemplary activity Mediation System300 may use the obtained location comparison results to, for example,demonstrate some degree of positive authentication, verification orvalidation of the Wireless Device User 310, or the ATM 540 transactionactivity being performed by the Wireless Device User 310, as it may bereasonable to assume that the Wireless Device User 310 who owns theWireless Device 214 has the device with him.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary relationship among exemplary informationelements within an exemplary Location Comparison Module 100 in FIGS. 1,2 and 4. The Location Comparison Module 100 compares the locationinformation resolved by and obtained from both the Wireless DeviceLocation Database 120 in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the Activity Source LocationDatabase 130 in FIGS. 1 and 4. The Location Comparison Module 100 mayuse a common Wireless Device ID 121 in FIGS. 3 and 5, originallyobtained from the Wireless Network 200 and the Activity Mediation System300, to associate the locations to compare. The Location ComparisonModule 100 may compare the values obtained from the Wireless DeviceLocation Database 129 in FIGS. 1 and 2, for Location Position 122 inFIG. 3 and Geographic Place 123 in FIG. 3 or both, with the valuesobtained from the Activity Source Location Database 130 in FIGS. 1 and4, for Activity Source Location 132 in FIG. 5 and Geographic Place 133in FIG. 5 or both. To perform a proper location comparison, it may benecessary to determine a proper association between the obtainedlocation information from both the Wireless Network 200 and the ActivityMediation System 300 with a common location format. This association maybe performed, for example, within both the Wireless Device LocationDatabase 120 and the Activity Source Location Database 130 prior to thelocation comparison. The comparison process produces one or moreproximity-based results among the locations input to the LocationComparison Module 100. The results of the comparison, as well as theassociated Wireless Device ID 121 pertaining to the comparison are thenpassed to a Location Comparison Results Module 110 in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4.

An exemplary Location Comparison Results Module 110 is depicted in FIGS.1, 2 and 4. The Location Comparison Results Module 110 analyzes theproximity information obtained from the Location Comparison Module 100in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 and assigns one or more results to the WirelessDevice ID 121 associated with the comparison results. These results maybe assigned, for example, based on the degree of proximity determined bythe location comparison. The degree of proximity and the algorithm usedto determine the results may vary among applications or automatedactivities making use of the exemplary Location Comparison Engine. Theresults may be attributed to and made available in a multiplicity ofexemplary formats such as arithmetic rankings, scores based on anacceptable predefined distance or a Boolean expression based on apredetermined distance threshold (e.g., a “true” result if thecomparison is within a predefined distance or a “false” result if thecomparison is outside a predefined distance). The results may also takethe form of the appropriately formatted independent locations themselvesfor use in a particular application. This may be the case when anapplication requires the locations themselves to add utility or value tothe application, such as in a social networking application that maydisplay the locations to the application users. The Location ComparisonResults Module 110 depicted in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 may then pass theappropriately formatted results of the location comparison for aparticular application along with the associated Wireless Device ID 121to an exemplary Results Processing System 320 as depicted in FIGS. 1, 2and 4. The Results Processing System 320 may reside within, or be thesame as, the Activity Mediation System 300 depicted in FIGS. 1 and 4, ormay be some other system that requires the location comparison results.The Results Processing System 320 may apply the comparison results toany type of application regardless of the results or the type ofapplication. The results may be provided in a multiplicity of formatsand used to authenticate, verify or validate a transaction or activityperformed through the application, or provide some utility to anapplication where the results of a comparison of those locations isrequired.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary detailed information and system flow diagramrepresenting the location comparison operation of a Location ComparisonEngine, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Inthis exemplary information and system flow, a Wireless Device User mayinitially invoke some transaction or application-based activity at aSource Geographic Location 310 in FIGS. 1 and 4.

Step 400: The Wireless Device Location Module obtains the WirelessDevice ID and associated Location Position of that Wireless Device IDfrom the Mobile Location Server. The obtained Location Position may havebeen previously queried from the Mobile Location Server or may have beenpassed autonomously from the Mobile Location server.

Step 404: The Wireless Device Location Module passes the Wireless DeviceID along with the associated Location Position to the Wireless DeviceLocation Database. The Location Position may be associated with aGeographic Place within the Wireless Device Location Database.

Step 408: The Wireless Device Location Database passes the WirelessDevice ID along with the Location Position, the Geographic Place, orboth to the Location Comparison Module.

Step 412: The Activity Source Location Module obtains the WirelessDevice ID and associated Activity Source Location of that WirelessDevice ID from the Activity Mediation System. The obtained ActivitySource Location may have been previously queried from the ActivityMediation System or may have been passed autonomously from the ActivityMediation System. Note that Step 412 may occur after Step 400 or beforeStep 400.

Step 416: The Activity Source Location Module passes the Wireless DeviceID along with the associated Activity Source Location to the ActivitySource Locator Database. The Activity Source Location may be associatedwith a Geographic Place within the Activity Source Location Database.

Step 420: The Activity Source Location Database passes the WirelessDevice ID along with the Activity Source Location, the Geographic Place,or both to the Location Comparison Module.

Step 424: The Location Comparison Module analyzes the locationinformation obtained from both the Wireless Device Location Database andthe Activity Source Location Database and sends proximity results of theanalysis to the Location Comparison Results Module.

Step 428: The Location Comparison Results Module obtains the locationcomparison results and assigns one or more values or otherwise formatsthe results appropriately for use in a particular application. Theresults, along with the associated Wireless Device ID, are then passedto the Results Processing System to effect some utility in the concernedtransaction or application activity performed by the Wireless DeviceUser. For example, if the location comparison results demonstrate closeproximity of the user to the application being accessed or the activitybeing performed, a reasonable assertion may be made that the user isauthentic, or the activity being performed is valid. In contrast, if thelocation comparison results demonstrate far proximity of the user to theapplication being accessed or the activity being performed, a reasonableassertion may be made that the user is not authentic, or the activitybeing performed is invalid. The present invention enables the comparisonof the location of a Wireless Device with the location of the User of aWireless Device engaging in some automated transaction or activity wherethe proximity of the locations compared has some utility. Examples ofthis utility may be to authenticate, verify or validate the User'stransaction or activity such that it may be determined that the User isin fact who he claims to be, or to provide proximity information aboutthe compared locations that may add value to some application, such asin social networking or online gaming.

FIG. 11 is an exemplary detailed process flow diagram representing thelocation comparison operation of a Location Comparison Engine, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In thisexemplary process flow, a Wireless Device User may initially invoke sometransaction or application-based activity at a Source GeographicLocation 310 in FIGS. 1, 4, 6, 7 and 8. In this exemplary process flow,the User ID and Position are provided to the Activity Source LocationModule 150 by the Activity Mediation System 300. An exemplary value forthe User ID may be “702-555-1234” which serves as the Wireless Device IDand, more specifically, the MDN of the Wireless Device User. Anexemplary value for Position may be “200.192.12.10” and serves as aphysical and geographically-based IP address of some applicationaccessed by the Wireless Device User. Similarly, in this exemplaryprocess flow, the Wireless Device ID and Position are provided to theWireless Device Location Module 140 by the Wireless Network 200. Anexemplary value for the Wireless Device ID may be “702-555-1234” whichserves as the MDN of the Wireless Device User. An exemplary value forPosition may be “Cell Site ID” which serves as a physical andgeographically-based area that may be currently serving the WirelessDevice represented by the MDN.

The Activity Source Location Module 150 passes the User ID and Positionto the Activity Source Location Database 130. In this example, theActivity Source Location Database 130 associates the physical andgeographically-based IP address with a geographically-based ZIP code,“98004,” and sets the current date and time. The date and timerepresents the date and time that the location of some activity accessedby the Wireless Device User occurred. Similarly, the Wireless DeviceLocation Module 140 passes the User ID and Position to the WirelessDevice Location Database 120. In this example, the Wireless DeviceLocation Database 120 associates the physical and geographically-basedCell Site ID with a geographically-based ZIP code, “98004,” and sets thecurrent date and time. The date and time represents the date and timethat the location of the Wireless Device was detected. The recorded dateand time information may be used, for example, as the last known dateand time of a Wireless Device User's location when current locationinformation is unavailable or unobtainable. Both the Wireless deviceLocation Database 130 and the Activity Source Location Database 130 passthe respective User IDs, in this case “702-555-1234,” and resolvedlocations, in this case “98004,” to the exemplary Location ComparisonModule 100. The Location Comparison Module 100 associates therespectively received locations with each other based on the common UserID “702-555-1234” and compares the two associated locations associatedwith that User ID. In this example, both locations have the value“98004” for the specified User ID. The Location Comparison Module 100then calculates a Proximity Result for the comparison. In this example,the comparison reveals that the Wireless Device User and the WirelessDevice are at the “same” location, that is, in ZIP code 98004. TheLocation Comparison Module 100 then passes the User ID “702-555-1234”and the Proximity Result “Same” to the exemplary Location ComparisonResults Module 110. The Location Comparison Results Module 110 assigns aProximity Result Value for the received proximity result. In thisexample, the value “100” is assigned to a proximity result for alocation comparison that reveals that the Wireless Device is in the“Same” location as the Wireless Device User. The Location ComparisonResults Module 110 then passes the User ID “702-555-1234” and theProximity Result Value “100” to some Results Processing System 320. TheResults Processing System 320 may then apply the Proximity Result Valueto, for example, an authentication, verification or validation algorithmthat it uses to authenticate, validate or verify the Wireless DeviceUser's identity or automated activity being performed by the WirelessDevice User.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a LocationComparison Engine is provided. The Location Comparison Engine comprisesmodules that obtain wireless device location from a Wireless Network aswell as the location of the wireless device user from some otherActivity Mediation System. The Activity Mediation System represents anydata communications network or system that has the ability to derivelocation information about an automated activity being performed at someplace. This activity may be a commercial point of sale (POS) transactionat a retail establishment, an online banking transaction from a personalcomputer, an e-commerce transaction from a personal computer, acomputer-automated voting application, an automated alarm system, or theinvocation of any automated application where geographic locationinformation of the transaction or activity taking place may be derived.The obtained wireless device location and the wireless device user'slocation are compared within a Location Comparison Module. The LocationComparison Module determines the proximity of the locations beingcompared and passes the results of the comparison to a LocationComparison Results Module. These results are then properly formatted andsent to a Results Processing System where they may be applied to aparticular application.

The present invention provides multiple benefits. The use of a LocationComparison Engine may significantly reduce fraudulent financialtransactions protecting Wireless Device Users as well as financialinstitutions. It provides confirmation for any type of securetransaction by Wireless Device Users and may reduce the incidence offalse positive indications of fraud using only traditional frauddetection mechanisms in use today. Additionally, results of a locationcomparison as described in the present invention may add utility tosocial networking applications or online gaming applications as it maybenefit Wireless Device Users to know how close in proximity friends arewho are engaging in those applications.

While the invention has been described with reference to the exemplaryembodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will be able to makevarious modifications to the described embodiments of the inventionwithout departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

1-21. (canceled)
 22. A method comprising: obtaining location informationassociated with a user from sources in a set of location sources,wherein the location information includes a location of a wirelessdevice of the user, and a location of a second device interacting withthe user, wherein the set of location sources includes one or moresources associated with a wireless network or a data network of anactivity mediation system, obtaining, based on the location of thesecond device, a location of the user; converting the location of thewireless device and the location of the user into a common locationformat; comparing the location of the wireless device and the locationof the user to determine proximity of the location of the wirelessdevice to the location of the user; and sending a result of thecomparison of the location of the wireless device and the location ofthe user to a processing system.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein thecomparing is initiated by an autonomous request from the activitymediation system.
 24. The method of claim 22, wherein the one or moresources associated with the wireless network includes a wireless devicelocation database.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the wirelessdevice location database includes a location position field that storesdifferent types of location information including one or more of amobile switching center identifier, a cell site identifier, a cellsector identifier, mapping coordinates, or a customized mappingidentifier.
 26. The method of claim 22, wherein the one or more sourcesassociated with the wireless network includes a home location register.27. The method of claim 22, wherein the one or more sources associatedwith the data network includes an activity source location database. 28.The method of claim 22, wherein the activity source location databaseincludes an activity source location field that stores different typesof location information including one or more of a physical geographicaddress, a physical data communications address, a logical or virtualplace or data communications address, a representation of an address, ageographic place name, mapping coordinates, or a customized mappingidentifier.
 29. The method of claim 22, wherein the activity mediationsystem is associated with a transaction-based activity or anapplication-based activity.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein thetransaction-based activity includes conducting a point-of-saletransaction, conducting an automated teller machine transaction,conducting an online e-commerce transaction, or conducting an onlinefinancial transaction.
 31. The method of claim 29, wherein theapplication-based activity includes accessing a social networkingapplication, accessing a gaming application, accessing a bankingapplication, accessing an e-commerce application, accessing an automatedteller application, or accessing a voting application
 32. A systemcomprising: a processor, and a memory storing instructions, which whenexecuted by the processor, causes the system to perform operationsincluding: obtaining location information associated with a user fromsources in a set of location sources, wherein the location informationincludes a location of a wireless device of the user, and a location ofa second device interacting with the user, wherein the set of locationsources includes one or more sources associated with a wireless networkor a data network of an activity mediation system, obtaining, based onthe location of the second device, a location of the user; convertingthe location of the wireless device and the location of the user into acommon location format; comparing the location of the wireless deviceand the location of the user to determine proximity of the location ofthe wireless device to the location of the user; and sending a result ofthe comparison of the location of the wireless device and the locationof the user to a processing system.
 33. The system of claim 32, whereinthe comparing is initiated by an autonomous request from the activitymediation system.
 34. The system of claim 32, wherein the one or moresources associated with the wireless network includes a wireless devicelocation database.
 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the wirelessdevice location database includes a location position field that storesdifferent types of location information including one or more of amobile switching center identifier, a cell site identifier, a cellsector identifier, mapping coordinates, or a customized mappingidentifier.
 36. The system of claim 32, wherein the one or more sourcesassociated with the wireless network includes a home location register.37. The system of claim 32, wherein the one or more sources associatedwith the data network includes an activity source location database. 38.The system of claim 32, wherein the activity source location databaseincludes an activity source location field that stores different typesof location information including one or more of a physical geographicaddress, a physical data communications address, a logical or virtualplace or data communications address, a representation of an address, ageographic place name, mapping coordinates, or a customized mappingidentifier.
 39. The system of claim 32, wherein the activity mediationsystem is associated with a transaction-based activity or anapplication-based activity.
 40. The system of claim 39, wherein thetransaction-based activity includes conducting a point-of-saletransaction, conducting an automated teller machine transaction,conducting an online e-commerce transaction, or conducting an onlinefinancial transaction.
 41. The system of claim 39, wherein theapplication-based activity includes accessing a social networkingapplication, accessing a gaming application, accessing a bankingapplication, accessing an e-commerce application, accessing an automatedteller application, or accessing a voting application.